HCS HB 1111 -- ABANDONED TOWED VEHICLES

SPONSOR:  Franz (Gosen)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on General
Laws by a vote of 11 to 0.

This substitute allows towed abandoned property to be released to
the owner's designated representative.  Currently, it can only be
released to the owner or to the holder of a valid security
interest of record.

Any nonvehicular personal property within the abandoned property
must be released to the owner or his authorised representative
regardless of payment arrangements.  The company holding or
storing the abandoned property must allow the owner or the
owner's authorized representative to inspect the property and
must provide an itemized written receipt for the contents within
10 days of receiving the vehicle.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2013, FY 2014, and
FY 2015.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that issues have arisen because
towing companies refuse to release personal property located
within a person's towed vehicle after an accident until someone
accepts liability and pays the towing and storage bill.  At
times, this can be days or even weeks.  The bill requires non-
automotive items, including a person's personal items and work or
trade supplies, to be released upon request.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Gosen; and Missouri
Insurance Coalition.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that there are concerns
with people who only have liability insurance coverage.  People
and insurance companies are choosing to leave their cars at these
towing companies and never retrieve them, leaving the towing and
storage bill unpaid.  The bill allows a person to remove all of
his or her items from the vehicle and leave the vehicle with the
towing company without paying any of the bill.  Currently, there
are safeguards in place for consumers to allow access to
prescription medications, to visually inspect the motor vehicle,
and to obtain an itemized list of items.

Testifying against the bill were Towing and Recovery Association
of Missouri; Jared Innis, Missouri Tow Truck Association; and
Mike Bolin.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated March 5, 2012 at 1:47 pm